Faulkner’s fight opened doors for women at The Citadel

Shannon Faulkner was in. Then she was out.

Then she fought her way back in. Then a week later, she was out.

Faulkner, a Powdersville native, made history as the first female cadet at The Citadel in August 1995, laying a foundation for women’s futures in the military.

Her battle with South Carolina’s state military college began with an admissions fluke in 1993 that got her accepted. She was later turned down because of her gender, prompting her to file suit against The Citadel.

It took more than a year and a judge’s order to get Faulkner into the cadet corps while her case continued through the courts. But it only took four days of Charleston heat and what Faulkner cited as an “emotional catastrophe” of stress and isolation to cause her to back out.

On Aug. 18, 1995, Faulkner dropped out of The Citadel.

“When I left The Citadel, I was not me anymore,” Faulkner said in an interview for CBS News’ “48 Hours” in May 1996. “Emotionally, I didn’t realize I wasn’t prepared.”

In 1996, following a Supreme Court decision on Virginia Military Institute’s all-male admissions policy, The Citadel officially resigned its all-male status and admitted four female cadets.

This story was originally published November 4, 2015 at 11:05 AM with the headline "Faulkner’s fight opened doors for women at The Citadel."